Book Review: The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

February 17, 2024 by Joe Gray in Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction

This set of stories was another great entry in the Throne of Glass series and it is written wonderfully. It gives much-appreciated context to the life that led to the events that start with the Throne of Glass book and creates an immense amount of anticipation to read The Queen of Shadows, where Celaena will, hopefully, face those who took so much from her. I can’t wait to keep reading about the incredibly heroic life of Celaena Sardothein. I recommend this book and reading it after reading through the first three full novels starting with Throne of Glass book. It isn’t necessary to read it in that order but it worked well for me. In any case, these books are superbly written and very enjoyable.

Book Review: 2001 A Space Odyssey

February 07, 2024 by Joe Gray in Book Review, Fiction, Reviews, Sci-Fi

I recommend this book if you like science fiction and it doesn’t take long to get through but be prepared to slog through some tedious chapters that could have been omitted without taking away from the story. It feels old-fashioned but I can see how it would be seen as monumentous in the world of science fiction when it came out. I need to watch the movie so that I can add to my cultural knowledge related to this book and I love science fiction so why not?

Book Review: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

January 30, 2024 by Joe Gray in Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction, Reviews

This book was by far the most emotion-inducing of the series so far and was a delight to read through. I had a hard time putting it down and it left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There is so much tension and action that there is never a dull moment. Getting to watch Celaena’s power and resolve grow as she is pushed to become more than a downtrodden slave to the will of others was extremely satisfying and exciting. Her character goes through so much inner and outer turmoil but she just keeps fighting and working toward becoming who she wants to be, which happens to be the hero the world needs in the face of such horrific tyranny.

Book Review: Prison of Hope by Steve McHugh

January 15, 2024 by Joe Gray in Book Review, Fantasy, Fiction

All in all, this was a very fun book to read, and while it has a lot of moving parts and I didn’t keep up with everything the characters made it enjoyable and easy to keep going. As always, the books in this series have very climactic and satisfying endings. Nate is a very likable character with his humor, charm, and noble morality. His friends are all very likable as well and it is fun to route for the good guys in these stories. I recommend this book to those who enjoyed the previous series especially if you want to learn more about Nate and the world he belongs to.

Snow Day Walk Around NE Portland 1/14/2024 (Photos)

January 14, 2024 by Joe Gray in Photography, Travel

Shot with Canon 80D

Canon 100mm Macro Lens

and Google Pixel 7a

NE Portland, OR

Follow me on Instagram @g_grins and @fractalfocus.nature

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

How to Create Consciousness In AI

January 12, 2024 by Joe Gray in Communication, computers, Consciousness, Philosophy, Psychology, Tech, Thoughts, Artificial Intelligence

These are my thoughts on how one might be able to create an AI that could talk about its internal self to an outside interlocutor. I certainly feel like my internal consciousness occupies a place in my mind but it is only accessible to me. Combining two AI programs and limiting them in the ways described might allow for a self-aware AI that could act in ways that we would describe as conscious. This is a very complicated thing to work out and I’m not sure it is a good idea to work toward this goal but it might lead to a better understanding of human consciousness and more useful AI systems. The moral implications of this are a different consideration and one that should be critically evaluated by those attempting to advance AI, robots, and technology in general.